It's All Politics

2:01 pm

Mon October 1, 2012

Pelosi Rival's New Ad Features Two Sacrificial Lambs, Including Himself

Actors depict Rep. Nancy Pelosi and zombies in a campaign ad by her Republican challenger.

Screenshot of John Dennis For Congress Ad

Rep. Nancy Pelosi's Republican challenger, John Dennis, won just 15 percent of the vote versus her 80 percent in the 2010 midterm elections, a very good year for the GOP, which took over the House after delivering a historic beat-down to the Democrats.

So to say Dennis is unlikely to defeat the House Democratic leader this year in a rematch for the congressional seat representing San Francisco is putting it mildly. The seat is deemed so safe for Pelosi that it would be hard to consider Dennis anything other than a sacrificial lamb.

Which makes a new ad by Dennis seem like something of a visual Freudian slip because it contains, no kidding, a sacrificial lamb — and actors dressed as zombies, led by an actor portraying Pelosi, who pretend to sacrifice an actual lamb when Dennis comes to its rescue.

The ad is obviously meant to get Dennis, co-founder of the ergonomics design firm Humanscale, some attention. And the fact that I've written this post proves his strategy is working.

This isn't Dennis' first weird campaign TV ad rodeo. In 2010, he had an ad that depicted Pelosi as the Wizard of Oz's wicked witch.

If the ad gives you the sense that Dennis is not your typical Republican House candidate, you'd be right. He's an anti-war libertarian who supports Texas Rep. Ron Paul, gay marriage and medical marijuana.

Also, if the ad triggers memories of another political ad out of California, maybe it's the "demon sheep" ad run by U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina in the 2010 Republican primary against former GOP congressman Tom Campbell. She lost to Sen. Barbara Boxer.